Govt to receive Rs 50.51 billion soft loan from WB

Kathmandu, June 18: The government has decided to accept Rs 50.51 billion in soft loan provided by the World Bank for various projects ranging from roads to bridges.

The subsidized loan would be utilized for the projects of strategic road network and upgrading of trade route and bridges.     

Spokesperson of the government and Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, told media persons that WB Group was providing Nepal some Rs 29.72 billion for strategic road network and trade route upgrading projects and around Rs 20.79 billion grant for the third phase of bridge upgrading project.     

The Minister shared it while making public the Cabinet decisions. As per the Cabinet decision, the government will also accept the grants of some Rs 1.8 billion to be provided by South Korea for the enforcement of project on inclusive rural development in Bardiya district.     

The minister was sharing the decisions the government made in the Cabinet meeting held on Monday. Accordingly, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli would visit Spain, leading a Nepali delegation from June 30 to July 5.     

It was decided to table an agreement to be made with WTO on fishery in the federal parliament.     

The Cabinet also made transfers of the some high officials including secretaries. DIG of the Armed Police Force, Ganesh Bahadur Thadamagar, would be promoted to the post of AIG and made appointment accordingly.     

A Nepali delegation will be formed to attend the 16th meeting of Nepal-India bilateral consultation group to be held in Pune, India on June 23-24.     

Similarly, use of 43.66 hectares of land in the national forest covering Nawalparasi Purba area would be allowed for constructing the 400-KV double circuit power transmission by the Millennium Challenge Account Nepal Development Committee (MCA).     

The government also endorsed the foreign visits of some ministers in the international events including that of Minister Gurung- in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20), and the AI for Good Summit, 2025 being held in Geneva, Switzerland from July 7 to July 11.     

The Cabinet also provided approval to acquire the membership of the International Big Cat Alliance or IBCA. The Alliance is a global initiative launched by India in 2023 to facilitate collaboration in the protection and conservation of seven big cat species: Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Puma, Jaguar, and Cheetah.(RSS)